Radical

That word stirs something in me.  It's an extreme word, don't you think?  If not, clearly you haven't read the book that carries its namesake.  David Platt does an amazing job of painting a picture of radical living as a follower of Christ.  He makes statements such as "settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves" and "We want Him so much that we abandon everything else to experience Him".

Those are only two of about 100 or more statements Platt wrote in his book that pierced straight through my heart. 

I can see that God has led me to make what the world would call radical choices for some time now.  I didn't always understand myself, why I made those choices, I just knew I was suppose to.  Sounds ridiculous doesn't it?  But, now I can see that God has been preparing me for His work.  He has been molding me and setting my life up in a way that would support His call on my life.  There is still much to do, many ways I need to be molded into a usable vessel, but He's doing it, and I'm grateful to be in His hands.

The most radical event of all history is the story of Christ.  Here's a taste of it from Philippians 2:6-8:

Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Being equal with God, yet emptying yourself for mankind for the sake of taking on death in man's place is about as radical as you can get!

Christ radically redeemed me.  Now it's my turn to live radically for Him.

I wrote this for those who know me personally and will hopefully see radical differences in me in the future and that you will accept a radical nature in me as I follow a radical God.  I hope you have already seen that my life does not follow the pattern of this world.  And I hope you will join me :).